Summary: Private Property Rights vs. Space Law
Discussing Private Property Claims Under the Current Space Law Framework
The current legal framework concerning off-planet property rights is governed by the United Nations Outer Space Treaty of 1967, which states in Article II that Outer Space is not subject to "National Appropriation" This forbids countries from any execution of supreme political authority concerning territory outside of Earth.
The debate over whether or not the 1967 Outer Space Treaty (O.S.T.) forbids private property is as old as the treaty itself. Proponents often cite the need for some form of court judgment to set the precedent in property-related matters. Opponents, such as certain members of the International Institute of Space Law (IISL) will stop at nothing to twist the wording of the O.S.T. to imply that private property claims were rendered illegal from the get-go.
Having spent the past decade on a project which served as a test of individual sovereignty beyond national borders, I have received a formal binding answer, directly from the source, on the legality of private property claims in outer space. This project has yielded a result that will forever lay to rest any controversy any question of the legality of private property claims in Outer Space under Article II, Article VI, and then some.
Whether such a claim is in compliance or violation of the outer space treaty, requires a fully binding legal determination by the competent authority. Such responsibility lies in the Department of State, ultimately with the U.S. Secretary of State, charged with the task of determining a legal instrument's validity under international law.
On November 21, 2008, my Claim of Ownership to Orion's Belt was Authenticated by the US Department of State for legal use abroad.
This serves as Formal Recognition by US Secretary of State that:
1. Private citizens are in no way forbidden from exercising territorial claims under the Outer Space Treaty, and are completely free to move forward how we see fit.
2. Nations can recognize and endorse claims by their citizens under the Outer Space Treaty– and can possibly become even more active toward this end the private space sector grows.